the lesson of the egyptian condor

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. -Proverbs 31:30

I saw a lot of people in the gym today I haven't seen before. Tis the season for getting all that Christmas cheer off your waste line.

In a worship planning meeting the other day we got off on the subject of looks. Someone told the story about a local preacher who has his own hair dresser follow him around before he preaches. Yeah- you guessed it, this digressed to all kinds of crude remarks about how their preacher certainly doesn't need that kind of attention.

Someone then made the observation that life in Christ really should make you beautiful in a meaningful sense. That living well and taking care of the temple God has given you and the result of the fruit of the Spirit in you should certainly result in a more orderly, beautiful life. But come on... hair dressers following you around? (Although I could use someone to powder my head occasionally).

I remember when my son was about 2 years old, I walked into our bathroom and found him sitting down staring at himself in the mirror. He had no expression on his face. It wasn't a look of admiration or horror, it was just a curious stare- as if to say, "who am I?"

It is quite natural in us, isn't it? According to the consumer trends online magazine, Euromonitor, the cosmetics industry has enjoyed an almost unfathomable 45% increase in the past six years!

The world is spending a LOT more money on appearance.

But hey, this has been going on for at least 10,000 years. The wisdom of Solomon above was written hundreds of years before Christ. Cosmetics has it's roots in ancient Egypt, where many thousands of years ago men and women alike applied cosmetics to enhance their looks.

"They applied green to their lower eyelids, then black or dark gray to their eyelashes and upper eyelids. And keeping with their spiritual beliefs, the dark colors were designed not only to enhance their appearance, but to ward off evil eyes."

In a kind of weird irony, Nature magazine is reporting that a type of vulture native to (of course) Egypt, is so serious about impressing the opposite sex, that it eats animal dung to change it's looks. I'm not making this up, according to this article, male Egyptian Condors actually stuff themselves with animal droppings until it literally turns their face yellow- apparantly a real turn on to female Egyptian vultures.

This article reminds me of a college roommate who used to put liver powder, skim milk, raw eggs and whey protein in a blender after working out. With a great burst of will power, he would down the entire blender in one outrageous gulp.

Birds of the feather flock together

All of this as a simple reminder- physical exercise has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come. (1 Timothy 4:8)

the guy you wouldn't want to live next door to during christmas

Part of the reason I didn't put Christmas lights up this year is because I couldn't do it as good as this guy.

what meekness isn't

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
(Micah 6:8)

Over the weekend San Deigo running back LeDanian Tomlinson broke the longstanding NFL single season scoring record held by Green Bay legend Paul Hornung. MSNBC is reporting that Hornung is not happy. "If someone finishes with a greater average than mine, I'll say, 'Fine, he broke my record", Hornung said in a phone call from Louisville.

Contrast this reaction by Hornung to the following story that comes from Sports Illustrated September 10, 1990:

When the Lions, leading 31-24, took possession with barely one minute remaining, Barry Sanders, their blockish, Scripture-spouting rookie running back, had 158 yards. Ten more and he would clinch the NFL rushing title.

On the Detroit sideline, this was brought to the attention of coach Wayne Fontes, who called Sanders over. "I said, 'You're 10 yards from leading the league in rushing,' " recalls Fontes. "

'Do you want to go in?' "

Sanders responded by parroting one of Fontes's favorite maxims: "Coach," he said, "let's just win it and go home."

"I even asked him if there was anything in his contract that said if he led the league in rushing, he got more money," says Fontes. "He said, 'Coach, give the ball to Tony ((fullback Tony Paige)). Let's win it and go home.' "

Sanders could not have cared less about winning the rushing title. "When everyone is out for statistics -- you know, individual fulfillment -- that's when trouble starts," he says. "I don't want to ever fall victim to that." So he stayed on the sideline, and the Lions won the game and went home. Christian Okoye of the Kansas City Chiefs won the rushing title.

Asked if he had any regrets over the summer about not winning the rushing title, Sanders shook his head. "I satisfied my ego last season," he said.

Biblical humility, often translated as "meekness" may be difficult to explain, but you know it when you see it. Or when you don't see it.

joy and community

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete (1 John 1:3-4).

God Himself lives in perfect community in the Trinity. To be drawn “into Christ” is to begin to understand the kind of community that is in His nature. As the Father loves the Son, and the Holy Spirit reveals that love, the experience of God’s love is realized more fully as we relate to one another. Jesus said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart… and love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:34). Could it be that the two are related? Jesus said, “They will know you are my disciples by the way you love one another (John 13:35).” John put it this way:

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love (1 John 4:8).

To nurture an “in Christ” lifestyle, the church must create multiple environments, not just for witness, but for “withness.” Not just for discipleship, but for fellowship. This is why our church is putting a lot of time, resources and energy into a structure of Sunday morning Bible study connection classes and home community groups that meet Sunday nights and throughout the week. We recognize that our product is changed lives and that life change happens best in small groups. We are creating multiple discipling and fellowshipping environments. Our goal is that every member and attender will be in a small group of some type.

It is in the small group that we fellowship and do the hard work of discipleship with others, and it is in those groups that we do community missions together. We are, in other words, swept up together in the movement of the Holy Spirit, accomplishing the work and calling of the Father, modeling the life of the Son. We are joining God in His perfect community and inviting others to join with us. This is how our joy is made complete and our mission accomplished.

huh?

In the "what was he thinking?" department, recently a pastor in Africa drowned while trying to play Jesus' in front of his congregation.

An evangelist who tried replicating Jesus' miracle of walking on water has reportedly drowned off the western coast of Africa. Pastor Franck Kabele, 35, told his congregation he could repeat the biblical miracle, and he attempted it from a beach in Gabon's capital of Libreville. "He told churchgoers he'd had a revelation that if he had enough faith, he could walk on water like Jesus," an eyewitness told the Glasgow Daily Record. "He took his congregation to the beach saying he would walk across the Komo estuary, which takes 20 minutes by boat. He walked into the water, which soon passed over his head and he never came back."

We shake our head in wonder at these kinds of stories, but is it any different, really, than our own foolish attempts to bring glory to ourselves?

I wonder how often I do even good things, not out of pure motive, but because it serves me well and brings me glory.

Sometimes I am a nice guy, not necessarily because of the Spirit of Christ working in me, but because I want people to like me and see my glory.

Sometimes I am more concerned with how I am percieved than whether I reflect the image of Christ.

I am not good at saying, "not my will, but yours".

I often long for attention and affirmation more than I affirm His glory and His name.

If I'm honest, I usually seek my own comfort and my own needs more than I seek His glory.

I want you to like this post so that I can get the glory for it.

To cut to the chase- If I ever tell you I'm gonna walk on water- bring a rope and a life jacket.

the truth about christianity and divorce

In the scripture we are studying this week in John 14, Jesus asks,

"Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?"

You can know a lot about Jesus, and not know Jesus. There is a difference between mere religious knowledge and genuine Christianity. Religious folks make Christianity one part of their life; they seek a church affiliation in order to be a fully orbed person. Christians, on the other hand, recalibrate and refocus their life based on their love for Christ. They see all of life through the lens of their commitment to Him.

There is a big difference between the two.

Consider the studies on divorce and religious affiliation. For years we have heard that "church people" have a higher divorce rate than normal folks. Especially depressing is this one that says Baptists are more prone than anyone to cut the ties.

Have you walked with me so long and not know me?

A careful look at these studies reveals that when you look at the "church people" who are actually living out their faith, the story is much different. The University of Virginia recently completed a study that is very instructive. When the principles of Christianity are actually put into practice in the home, this study reveals, the marriage is healthy and happy. The difference in this study and others is that the research went beyond just asking about religious affiliation and probed into actual religious habits and lifestyle.

Spouses who share weekly [church] attendance had happier wives. Spouses who share a strong, normative commitment to marriage—that is, who are opposed to easy divorce, who believe the kids should be reared in married households—have wives who are markedly happier. This factor is as strong as who works outside the home or who earns the lion's share of the income. It's also extremely important that the wife considers the division of housework to be fair to her. A sense of equity is extremely important, but equity is not equality. Women want things to be fair in their homes, but they don't equate fairness with equality.

The impetus here is especially on the man. If a man is living the biblical principles of manhood, and serving his wife, loving his kids, leading in a godly way, the home is healthy and functional.

Make no mistake- there is a wide variance between the man who says he is a Christian and the one who actually lives it out in the flesh- where it counts, in the home.

In Africa every morning ....

A few weeks ago I quoted the famous African proverb about the Lion and the Gazelle. After watching the above video, how would you finish this sentance?: Every morning in Africa the lion wake up and knows that he has to run faster that the gazelle to eat and survive, every morning in Africa the gazelle wakes up and knows that the has to run faster than the lion to survive. But ...

the importance of "with"

And I pray that your love will have deep roots. I pray that it will have a strong foundation. May you have power with all God's people to understand Christ's love (Ephesians 3:17b-18).

Recently another high-profile pastor was revealed to be living a double life. Sadly, his story is just one in a long line of stories about spiritual leaders and pastors who have had very public failures.

What do we make of this?

First, it is a good reminder that the potential for human evil and failure is in all of our hearts. Pastor's are not exempt- it is just that because of what a pastor does and stands for, he is under more scrutiny and therefore his failure is much more scandalous. So when we hear of these kinds of things we say, "there except by the grace of God go I!" Like Paul we say, "those things I don't want to do I do...wretched man that I am!"

As Francis Schaeffer once said, "he who thinks he has arrived, never will."

Second, it is important also for us to remind ourselves that we are only as sick as our secrets. There is a reason that God calls us to live in fellowship. Biblical community is absolutely necessary for a godly life.

In the passage above, Paul said, "I pray that you will have power WITH all the saints". This is an important distinction. The reason it is easy for even people who look the part and attend church to live in hiddenness and not change is because they are not truly on the journey with people who can challenge them with the "How are you- really?" question.

In American Christianity we are often guilty of defining the Christian experience as something lived out in isolation. We talk about a "personal relationship with God," or we claim, "My religion is a personal matter, between me and God" or "I keep my religion to myself".

What these cliche's have in common is that none is a Biblical concept.

The truth is that Scripture rarely contemplates faith living without community. It is true that each of us is personally responsible for his or her own salvation and spiritual maturity. None of us will stand before God and give account for anyone else. But the teaching of Scripture is that to be "in Christ" is to be "in His body," in Biblical community.

It is in Biblical community that we bear each other's burdens (Gal. 6:5), hold each other accountable (Heb. 10:24), encourage one another (Phil. 2:24), serve one another (Gal. 5:13), confess our sins to one another (James 5:16) and love one another as Christ has loved us (John 13:34).

In fact, what we find in Scripture is that God created us for community. The one thing God said was "not good" in the creation event was that man was alone.

"Incompleteness", in other words, is directly associated with "aloneness". We are incomplete in our isolation. To be alone is to be unhealthy. The worst punishment for a prisoner is to be put in solitary confinement because it has the most torturous and debilitating effect on the emotions. God created us emotionally and spiritually to live life together. There is, in fact, a direct correlation between physical and emotional disease and isolation.

Condemnation in the literal sense is to be isolated from God- to exist without the full beam of God's love. Hell is eternal separation from God. We create our own personal hell as we isolate ourselves from His love and the love of others. death is seperation- first our body and spirit separate and then our bodies "de-compose".

To be isolated is to decompose, and the more we separate from God the sicker we become. All of us know people who isolate themselves from others and from God and the more they are apart from Him and others, the more they come apart. Sadly, this is the peril of many pastors, who feel as if they must stand alone and hide their weakness.

We must not forget that we are wired for community. So, the church is not merely a place you go to, it is a movement you are a part of and that you participate in WITH others.

It is not a building in which isolated and alone people gather together to pat each other on the back and empower their varying degrees of aloneness and isolation and denial. It is a powerful movement of the Holy Spirit, lived out in Biblical community.

deep roots

I pray that your love will have deep roots. I pray that it will have strong foundations (Ephesians 3:17).

Many years ago Teri and I built a house on top of the highest plateau in Wichita County, Texas. (Not saying much!) The locals knew the hill for two things—strong winds and rattlesnakes. (Neither was mentioned by the guy who sold us the land, by the way.)

It wasn’t long after we built our home that the hill began living up to its reputation. Our family has many wonderful memories of Rattlesnake Hill, but the wind is not one of them. I planted many trees, as had generations before, I am sure. I planted pecans, oaks, elms, cedars. They all succumbed to the punishing wind. One tree survived. One tree, in fact, thrived. It was the one tree I didn’t want—the mesquite.

The mesquite tree is a sorry excuse for a tree! It looks like an overgrown weed and is the bane of every Texas rancher. Its thin leaves, winding branches and long nail-like thorns make it the tree from hell.

The mesquite survives the punishing wind, drought and cold of west Texas for one reason: roots. As anyone who has ever tried to clear mesquite will tell you, the roots grow deep and wide. They can encompass a huge tract of land and are almost impossible to kill. The hardy mesquite is a great example of “rootedness.”

On a recent trip to the Holy Land, I noticed there is a tree in the Judean hills that grows as wild as the mesquite. The olive tree grows hardy and wild in the harsh conditions of the near eastern desert.

Deep roots in hard terrain—the tenacious olive and mesquite trees. These are great symbols for what our spiritual lives should be. Paul thought of the many friends he had in the Ephesian church who were new believers and wrote, “I am praying for deep roots for you!”

It’s tough out there. Life is hard! Crazy, counterfeit doctrines are everywhere, competing for your attention and loyalty. “Grow those roots deep!” Paul is saying. It is important that a church nurture a maturing process that grows deep roots. Our “rootedness,” our foundation, is found in the depth of our understanding of His word.

Blessed is the man… (whose) delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers (Psalm 1:1-3).

A person “in Christ” has rootedness when he or she “delights” in the word of God—when the regular, sustained study of God’s word and doctrine brings joy. Rootedness is the result of purposeful study and meditation that goes beyond occasional reading.

A deep understanding of God’s word means knowing the essentials of the faith. Someone rooted in Scripture knows the difference between the essentials and the non-essentials. The roots grow deep as he gains clarity regarding what is most important and what is really not all that important. Immature Christians are notorious for majoring on the minors. A rooted “in Christ” believer majors on the majors. She knows the mountains from the molehills.

taking the beauty in

Several have asked me for this quote from C.S. Lewis I used on Sunday. You can't beat Lewis when it comes to nailing things on the head!

We do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words — to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it. That is why we have peopled air and earth and water with gods and goddesses and nymphs and elves — that, though we cannot, yet these projections can, enjoy in themselves that beauty, grace, and power of which Nature is the image.

That is why the poets tell us such lovely falsehoods. They talk as if the west wind could really sweep into a human soul; but it can't. They tell us that "beauty born of murmuring sound" will pass into human face; but it won't. Or not yet. For if we take the imagery of Scripture seriously, if we believe that God will one day give us the Morning Star and cause us to put on the splendour of the sun, then we may surmise that both the ancient myths and the modern poetry, so false as history, may be very near the truth as prophecy. At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door.

We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendours we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumour that it will not always be so. Some day, God willing, we shall get in. (C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory)

city of God

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled (Matthew 5:6).

The Church is not a building; it’s a dynamic forward movement of the Kingdom of God. It is an unstoppable force, an irrepressible energy in the universe. Christianity is much more than just going to a building once a week. The building is significant because it is a place of gathering (ecclesia). But even more and in addition to a gathering, the church emobodies the abundant life of her members, and calls us to the very best life possible (sanctification). That is the life Christ has called His body to—an exciting life, a life that is subversive to culture, a dangerous life. The church is to offend the gates of hell, to change culture. We are to be the city on the hill that changes the city of man. In the words of Erwin McManus:

I have no doubt that in the hearts of men and women there is a yearning to live the quest. We are all haunted with the fear of living lives of insignificance, and we all hear the voice that tells us we can live the dream. Somehow we all know that to play it safe is to lose the game. By definition an adventure is “an undertaking or enterprise of a hazardous nature.” And life as God intended us to live is nothing less than adventure. It comes at great risk and significant cost. (Seizing Your Divine Moment)

I have found that this kind of life does not come naturally. It is easy for us to take the path of least resistance and live comfortably, but not effectively. The good is often the enemy of the best. Christ calls us to a different kind of life, one in which we must pick up a cross. It is offered to all who hunger and thirst for it. As in everything else in life, you’ve got to want it, and you’ve got to be willing to do the hard work. Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.” An Olympic athlete sees the vision of what he/she wants to become, then goes into diligent training to accomplish that goal. Professional athletes get where they are by training and purposing to be the best. It is no different for the abundant life.

And I pray that your love will have deep roots. I pray that it will have a strong foundation. May you have power with all God's people to understand Christ's love (Ephesians 3:17b-18).

Paul prayed that the Ephesian church would not stay in mediocrity but that it would purpose to discover the full dimensions of Christ’s love. He prayed that the Church would become the unstoppable force it was designed to be. He prayed that it would not be static in spiritual growth but that it would be dynamic and full in it's understanding. The New Testament does not envision a church that is not in motion. A Kingdom-building church fills up all the space around it (Eph. 1:23). Paul’s prayer for the church was that it would be in Christ and that it would have the power with all God’s people to understand God’s love and that it would make God's love known to the nations. To pursue this kind of reality should be the passion and teaching of every church!

the trip along the way

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9).

The summer after my son, Taylor, turned 13, we took a trip with some other boys his age and their dads to mark this milestone in their lives. We drove from Oklahoma City to Buena Vista, Colorado, to hike Mount Elbert, the second highest mountain in the continental United States. As dads, our goal was to take our boys on a trip they would never forget. We succeeded!

Our goal was to make the hike a challenge. It was! We wanted to show them the path to manhood.

We almost wimped out.

We set off with great enthusiasm from the trailhead at about 6:00 in the morning. The ascent took us eight hours. We passed the tree line about half way, progressing with air thinning and lungs weakening into the growing shadow of deceitful Elbert. Our legs were becoming jellylike, and each step grew more sullen. My son and I were alone toward the end, throwing ourselves against the mountain, painfully urging on each step. Our morning enthusiasm had given way to afternoon despair. Taylor complained passionately that we couldn't make it.

Whatever I might have hoped for in the planning of that trip, I could not have imagined a better way to get into the head and heart of my son. We sat down for extended periods, staring at the next 20 steps.

“Do you see that rock, Son? It is only a few steps. We will walk to the rock, and we will rest again.”

“No, Dad, I don’t think I can make it!”

“I know you can. We will do it together. There is no turning back.”

I have a picture of my son and I standing on top of Mt. Elbert Peak that I keep in my bedroom. The experience we shared on that trip was priceless! When I look at at that picture, I don't think about the difficulties we had making the ascent, I think about how much my son and I learned about each other- and life.

The journey is not nearly as much about climbing the last peak as it is about the experience along the way. It's all those steps leading up to the peak that make life so full.

The gospel is not just about destination, it's also about destiny. God is a God of history who is moving us through eternity. Truly, Christianity is not an event, it is a journey.

sometimes you only see what you want to see

I hate to admit it, but there have been times in my life that I have wanted something so badly, believed in my ideas so sincerely, that I have only seen what I wanted to see, in spite of the reality of what is in front of me.

This may be something of what scripture teaches when it says that one day we will see clearly even as now we are clearly seen. I have found that as I get older, I am a little more humble about my clouded view.

the journey defined

We describe our mission as a church in terms of a journey we are on together. Why a journey you ask? Scripture teaches that we (the church) are being led as captives in His train" (Ephesians 4:7-10). The image is of a conquering Suzerian King leading his plunder back to the city.

We go where the chariot goes, we are bound to His glory.

The journey is forward movement. It is an outward force moving toward a climactic end. It is taking up the cross and following Him. The church is the embodiment of Christ, who is "above all rulers and authority, power and dominion and every title that has been given, not only in this present age but also in the age to come. And God has placed all things under their feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way." (Eph. 1:21-22)

The story of scripture is the story of redemption. God has moved in history and we come to understand ourselves in that context.

God created man in His own image and put him in the garden and invited him into His fellowship. Man sought his own glory and sinned against God and was separated from Him. God in His mercy provided the way of redemption. He chose to relate to us by way of His promises (covenant); He gave the law to help us understand our own nature; He gave instructions for the tabernacle as a way of beholding His glory; He established a community of faith and gave man a new garden (the promised land). He established the davidic line to point to a new kingdom; When the kingdom was divided and His people exiled, He spoke through His prophets of the calamity of disobedience and pointed to a new covenant.

The affect of all of this was to reveal our utter falleness, idolotry and rebellion against God. The law exposed us, condemned us and brought clarity to our need for a savior. All of these things, of course, were mere shadows of things to come.

Our desire for the garden remains. We long for a new heaven and a new earth. Our sin separates us from God. We see death in ourselves and know that our souls are empty. We see injustice (OU vs UO comes to mind) and crime and disease and poverty and we know that something is missing. All creation is groaning.

But God has provided a way. Christ proclaimed the gospel of the new Kingdom and became our blood sacrifice. He took the holocaust in and drank the poison from the cup of wrath. The law, the tabernacle, the high priest, the table, the basin, the curtain, the sacrifice all point to Christ. The ecclesia (gathering) of the Old Testament became the Church after the resurrection of Christ.

The Church therefore was established on the biblical principles of celebration of God's promise (ceremony), connection with God's Word (the reading of scripture), community of God's people (koinia) and the cause of spreading God's fame to the nations (commission) and all of it was brought about by way of the cross. As Christ followers we are join to Him in this redemptive movement, pushing against the darkness, overwhelming the gates of hell. We make use of every opportunity, living our lives not as unwise but as wise, understanding what the Lord's will is. (Ephesians 5:15-17)

This is the journey that we talk about. It is the procession of which we are a part. It is a purpose that was born out of the riches of scripture. We express it this way:

I am on the journey when I am actively attending celebration worship; when I am connecting the spiritual truths of God's word to my daily life; when I am involved in genuine Christian community and engaged with others in the Great Commission cause!

These priorities are not vague in the text, but rather are sytstemic throughout scripture and transcend every era and culture. They are not automatic, however. We are not in the garden anymore and we are not in heaven yet, therefore they do not come to us instinctively. We must commit to them and take them seriously. They must be the result of our discipline and woven into the very fabric of our lives.

This is why we have held them up as our norm and have actually organized our structure around the environments of celebration worship, Bible study connection, community fellowships and the Great Commission cause.

moving from cultural christianity to biblical christianity

We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. (2 Corinthians 10:12)

The operative question for those of us who are Christ followers is, “how am I doing in my journey of kingdom building?’ And the question for the church is, “how are we doing at helping people in that journey?”

The answer to these questions is seen in what we quantify. Our values are determined by what we measure. If you measure your self worth by your net worth, for instance, then you are attaching your emotions and your identity to your material wealth. If we say that our most important value is “to love all people to Christ and to help them on their journey with God and each other” then we need quantifiers in place that reflect that value. For years, churches have measured success by “buildings budgets and baptisms”. But do these things really tell us how people are moving toward life change?

Christ followers and Christ following churches have to deliberately evaluate their value systems and their measuring systems.

This is important because there is an essential difference between being ruled by self and being in Christ. It is the difference between the kingdom of me and the kingdom of God. The Christian journey is one that moves you from one kingdom to the other. It is what happens as you relinquish all other feelings of worth based on the pride of life, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes (1 John 2:15-17) and gain a new measure that compares self to Christ.

But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 2:5-6 NIV)

So how do we do this? How do we put measures in place that reveal how God’s love is being made complete in us? The answer of course is that we major on the essentials and minor on the non-essentials. All of our measures must line up with the timeless teachings of scripture. In other words, we put less emphasis on cultural Christianity and more on genuine biblical Chrstianity.

the peril of practical atheism

Jay Leno has made “man on the street” interviews famous by asking people on the streets of L.A. simple questions about American history and politics. Leno asks questions like, “Can you name our Vice President?” The blank stares and hilarious answers make great comedy, but say something really scary about American culture.

According to Michael J. Flack, Phd:

"A crisis of basic biblical and theological knowledge exists in America’s churches, and church leaders must do all they can to address this growing problem, so say experts monitoring the beliefs of people in Christian churches across the United States.“The Christian body in America is immersed in a crisis of biblical illiteracy,” warns researcher George Barna. “How else can you describe matters when most churchgoing adults reject the accuracy of the Bible, reject the existence of Satan, claim that Jesus sinned, see no need to evangelize, believe that good works are one of the keys to persuading God to forgive their sins, and describe their commitment to Christianity as moderate or even less firm?”[1]

Other disturbing findings that document an overall lack of knowledge among churchgoing Christians include the following:

• The most widely known Bible verse among adult and teen believers is “God helps those who help themselves”—which is not actually in the Bible and actually conflicts with the basic message of Scripture.

• Less than one out of every ten believers possess a biblical worldview as the basis for his or her decision-making or behavior.• When given thirteen basic teachings from the Bible, only 1% of adult believers firmly embraced all thirteen as being biblical perspectives.[2]

Gary Burge, professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, asserts that biblical illiteracy is at a crisis level not just in our culture in general but in America’s churches.
“If it is true that biblical illiteracy is commonplace in secular culture at large, there is ample evidence that points to similar trends in our churches,” he says.[3]

Burge points to research at Wheaton College in which the biblical and theological literacy of incoming freshmen have been monitored. These students, who represent almost every Protestant denomination in the United States from every state in the country, have returned some “surprising results”:

• One-third could not put the following in order: Abraham, the Old Testament prophets, the death of Christ, and Pentecost.

• Half could not sequence the following: Moses in Egypt, Isaac’s birth, Saul’s death, and Judah’s exile.

• One-third could not identify Matthew as an apostle from a list of New Testament names. • When asked to locate the biblical book supplying a given story, one-third could not find Paul’s travels in Acts, half did not know that the Christmas story was in Matthew, half did not know that the Passover story was in Exodus.[4]

Like Burge, George Lindbeck, the famous Yale theologian, has commented on the decreasing knowledge of Scripture from a professor’s perspective.“When I first arrived at Yale, even those who came from nonreligious backgrounds knew the Bible better than most of those now who come from churchgoing families,” he says.[5]

This is also the view of theologian and author David Wells.“I have watched with growing disbelief as the evangelical church has cheerfully plunged into astounding theological illiteracy,” declares Wells in his book No Place for Truth.[6]

Biblical illiteracy is not just a problem for American churches. A scientific survey called PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) tested the knowledge of people in thirty-two industrialized countries.

The results of the study show an “insidious biblical illiteracy” even in Christian circles, says Volker Gaeckle, dean of studies at Albrecht Bengel Center in Tuebingen. “Churches should heed the PISA warning that text comprehension is a major problem.” [7]

There is a huge gap in American Christianity between what we profess to believe, and the way we actually live our lives. While professing Christianity, many people who are moderately or even heavily involved in the life of the church are essentially “practical atheists”.

Are we okay with this? Is it acceptable to us that people can attend church for years and never actually change or be challenged or even learn to embrace the essential doctrines? Is it okay that there are people in our church who live in anger, or addiction or live in varying stages of abuse, and are perfectly comfortable with their church life without making any kind of advancement in their spiritual life?

We are dreaming of a church that will not accept this as normal. We are dreaming of a church that sees life change and genuine biblical community in which people are really loving and caring for each other, doing mission together and challenging each other to be drawn into Christ as a normative part of their life together. We are dreaming of a church that measures itself by the actual standards of biblical fellowship, discipleship, service and evangelism and that actually knows and believes the essentials of the faith.

1] Barna Research Online, “Religious Beliefs Vary Widely by Denomination,”www.barna.org/cgi-bin/PagePressRelease.asp?PressReleaseID=92&Reference=B,June 25, 2001.
[2] Barna Research Online, “Discipleship Insights Revealed in New Bookby George Barna,” www.barna.org/cgi-bin/PagePressRelease.asp?PressReleaseID=76&Reference=E&Key=bible%20knowledgeNovember 28, 2000.
[3] Gary M. Burge, “The Greatest Story Never Read: Recovering biblical literacy in the church,” www.christianitytoday.com/ct/9t9/9t9045.html.
[4] Ibid.
[5] George A. Lindbeck, “The Church’s Mission to a Postmodern Culture,” Postmodern Theology: Christian Faith in a Pluralist World (San Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers, 1989), 45.
[6] David F. Wells, No Place for Truth or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 4.
[7] “Biblical Illiteracy Spreading Among Christians,” http://news.crosswalk.com/partner/Article_Display_Page/0,,PTID74088%7CCHID194343%7CCIID1138212,00.html.

religion as idolotry

"For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven." (Matt. 5:20)

Religious acts of righteousness may be more an addiction to morality and pride than they are actual kingdom building. Jesus told the Pharisees their righteousness was missing the point (Matthew 23:23). We are condemned by the law, not saved by it. The gospel proclaims a new order- that we are saved not by works but by grace. Our works do not save us, they reveal us. The fruit does not give the tree life, it reveals what kind of tree it is. God told the church in Laodicia, I would rather you be hot or cold, if you are luke-warm, I will spew you out of my mouth! (Revelation 3:15).

There is nothing worse than false religion that lures a person away from authenticity and enables hiddenness. This form of idolotry is the antithesis to the gospel. It inoculates people to the truth.

Religion is the invention of the devil. The world has taken out the patent. We humans have mortgaged our souls to the product, and think we have gotten a good deal. Religion is the most dangerous energy source known to humankind. (Lawrence Crabb).

Discipleship that leads to spiritual maturity is never accomplished in hiddenness, but church life without kingdom life can become an environment where mask wearing is the accepted norm.

It is a strange thing in a religious environment, that we can learn the language, the culture and the social norms, and unless there are specific challenges to our developing status quo, we can do all the right stuff to pass as a dedicated church member, and at the same time live in such hiddeness that although we may be in spiritual darkness, no one around us has the least suspicion.

So, every now and then, a couple at church blows up their marriage and everyone is shocked. "I didn't know they were having problems!" people will say. Someone commits suicide and no one who attends their Sunday School knew the depth of their struggle. A man wrecks his family because of some addiction and not a single person who goes to church with him has a clue about what is really going on in his life.

We are dreaming of a church in which this is not the norm. We dream of dynamic community where masks come off and life change is normative and mission is focused. We are dreaming of a church that is serious about kingdom building priorities and that wholly rejects the bland emptiness of churchiosity that can lead to empty religion and practical atheism.

the end of boredom

I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."(Romans 1:14-17)

The center of the church’s purpose is the gospel. The way you view the meaning of the gospel in this context will affect the way you view the meaning and the mission of the church. C.S. Lewis makes the point in his book “Mere Christianity” that the essence of Christianity is to be drawn “into Christ” and that the purpose of His church is to help people live lives that are “in Christ”.

“The church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself are simply a waste of time. God became man for no other purpose. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other purpose!” (C.S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”)

But is this our experience with the church? Let’s be real- people can come to a church building week after week, year after year, and be perfectly comfortable and feel completely satisfied with living in spiritual mediocrity. In fact, when the church stops becoming a kingdom building movement it actually perpetuates this kind of mediocrity. “Churchiosity” is not a guarantee of life in Christ.

The journey Christ calls us to is nothing short of radical kingdom building and a world changing mission. To be in Christ is the end of boredom. We all have a mission! We are all involved in building the kingdom. The role of the missionary is not just a mission in some remote country in another part of the world, but of reaching people in our own mission field. In the one we enter every morning; in our neighborhoods, businesses and schools. He has called us to be salt and light, to be witnesses to our Jerusalem (where we are) as well as Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:7). He has called us to live lives that have eternal impact, that altar lives and change communities. Our mission at CRBC involves two significant and purposeful strategies; 1) Loving all people to Christ and 2) Helping them on their journey.

the present and future reality of the kingdom of God

Life in Christ is a journey, not merely an event or destination. Christ came to set us free from our sin; but in the bigger context, He came to welcome us into a new kind of life, a “kingdom building” life.

The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy, but I have come that you might have life to the fullest (John 10:10).

Jesus clearly teaches that He has come to change our situation not just at some time in the future, but starting right now: "I have come that you might HAVE life" (present tense). That you might live the very best life possible... starting today. Not "I have come that you merely can escape hell at some point in the future," but that your life will be above the norm, that it will be transforming and the transformation will start right away. Christianity is not just about going to Heaven when you die!

I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me HAS eternal life and is not condemned. (John 5:24)

The gospel is not merely a "get out of hell free card." This kind of misunderstanding can lead to disappointment in the Christian experience and even legalism and spiritual bondage. It is not just about standing before God some day, but about a lifelong walk influenced by the rule of Christ that culminates into an eternal reality from the day you receive Him into your life. Eternal life and the Kingdom of God are both a present reality.

I can't emphasize this point too strongly- your Christian life is not just an event or a destination- it is a lifelong journey that begins now and moves on into eternity. It is a present reality AND a future destination.

Consider how the wrong kind of thinking cheapens the Christian experience Christ intends for us. Jesus came proclaiming the "gospel," that is to say, the "good news." And what was that "good news"?

Read the following scriptures carefully:

"The time has come," He said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1:15 NIV)

After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, (Luke 8:1 NIV)

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, {2} and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. (Luke 9:1-2 NIV)

After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3 NIV)

Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 28:31 NIV)

It is clear that when Jesus talked about the gospel, he was talking about the Kingdom of God. What is the Kingdom of God? It is where the King reigns. It is BOTH a future and present reality as long as that rule is in place. It is that place that God reigns in my present reality as much as it is a description of heaven where God’s uninterrupted rule in my life will be a future reality. It is a right now/not yet tension between this present age and the age to come.

So, when Jesus talked about the "good news," He was not just talking a bridge to heaven as much as He was bringing us the message that God wants to put people on an awesome journey that will put us in touch with eternity, and that He has brought this to bear by saying in effect, "I have got good news for you and the good news is that the kingdom of God is available to you right now!"

why church membership?

When a person comes to faith in Christ, he immediately enters into the "invisible church". This is the church that only God sees and knows. J.I. Packer states plainly,

"Invisible means, not that we can see no sign of its presence, but that we cannot know (as God, the heart-reader, knows, 2 Tim. 2:19) which of those baptized, professing members of the church as an organized institution are inwardly regenerate and thus belong to the church as a spiritual fellowship of sinners loving their Savior"

But why is it necessary to join the local, visible church? Some will say that this is not necessary in light of our membership into the universal Body of Christ. In this post, I seek to remove this obstacle to what I believe is a very important step in obedience.

Ten reasons:

1. Scripture teaches that not only are we to be members of the invisible church (past, present and future) upon our salvation, but we are also to identify ourselves with other believers in physical assembly (Hebrews 10:23-25) and in that assembly we are to "hold fast" to our public commitment WITH other believers. "Let us, without ever wavering, keep on holding to the hope that we profess" (Williams). The plain teaching here is that we, as the physical visible church must "spur one another on" in our faith. The Bible does not contemplate a faith lived in aloneness, but one that is committed to others as we are committed to Christ.

2. Although scripture does not specifically teach that a person should join a local church, it is apparent that scripture assumes that if one is a Christian, they are a member of a local church. As an example, in his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul teaches the exclusion of a member of that church. Exclusion from a church presupposes inclusion:

You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midstÂ….Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificedÂ… I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or witidolatorsrs, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or aidolatorer, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler - not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. Remove the wicked man from among yourselves (1Cor 5:2, 7, 12-13).

One cannot be excluded from something that he was never included in.

3. In 2 Cor. 2:6-7, Paul talks about "the majority" which implies that there was a definite number of those who were identified with the local, physical church in Corinth. 6The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. 7Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

4. The local churches in Paul's day apparently kept a list of widows. It would be impossible for the churches we learn about in the New Testament to distinguish between leadership, new believers and widows and orphans in need if there was no system of accounting (1 Timothy 5:9).

5. God keeps a list of the true members of the visible AND invisible church. Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life (Phil 4:3). And nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into [the New Jerusalem], but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life (Rev 21:27).

6. Local church membership is the public endorsement of a body of believers of a person's salvation and forward movement in discipleship. Jesus taught the church is to "make disciples", the first step of which is baptism. New believers need nurture, care and discipline that is provided for in the local assembly of believers. In scripture, the assembly (ecclesia) was established as a community of faith both in the old and new testaments in which specific responsibilities of spiritual community and discipline are spelled out. Scripture, in other words, does not contemplate spiritual aloneness.

7. Scripture teaches that the church is the "Bride of Christ". It is understood that this in the fullest sense represents the universal church past present and future as stated in the book of Revelation. But there is a specific application to the local church in Ephesians 5, as Paul is writing to a local physical body. This relationship implies commitment and identity as a Bride identifies with her husband in a covenant relationship, binding herself to Him and taking His name. As there is a local physical understanding of this metaphor used is scripture, logic would say, "if I love Christ, I will love His bride!"

8. The Church in the New Testament is reflected by the nation of Israel in the Old. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with Gods people and members of Gods household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (Eph. 2:19-22 ) As such, the Old Testament priests, sacrifices, and sanctuary are superseded by the mediation of Jesus, the crucified, risen, and reigning God-man (Heb. 1-10), in whom believers now find their identity as the seed of Abraham and the people of God (Gal. 3:29; 1 Pet. 2:4-10). The word "assembly", translated "ecclesia" in the Septuagent is found throughout the Old Testament and identifies the gathering of the people of God in worship and spiritual community. The disciples identified the church in this same way, and as such saw themselves as the physical gathering of a people identified with each other and responsible together to live out their faith as a people of God. There is great power in the words, "a people belonging to God". Membership is the language of belonging.

9. The Bible commands that we submit ourselves to spiritual authority. Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves (Hebrews 13:17). One who does not commit to the local Body in membership has in affect said, "I will not submit myself to any authority".

10. I will let Packer make the final point: The New Testament assumes that all Christians will share in the life of a local church, meeting with it for worship (Heb. 10:25), accepting its nurture and discipline (Matt. 18:15-20; Gal. 6:1), and sharing in its work of witness. Christians disobey God and impoverish themselves by refusing to join with other believers when there is a local congregation that they can belong to.

tagged again

Per Marty Duren's tag:

1. One book that changed your life: Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis
2. One book that you’ve read more than once: Desiring God, John Piper
3. One book I’d want on a desert island: Other than the Bible, Desiring God
4. One book that made me laugh: Reformissionary by Mark Driscoll
5. One book that made me cry: With All Your Mind by Yandall Woodfin (because I didn't understand a word.)
6. One book that you wish you had written: Let the Nations be Glad by Piper
7. One book you wish had never been written: With All Your Mind (see above)
8. One book that you are currently reading: The Rebels of Ireland by Rutherford.
9. One book that you’ve been meaning to read: God of Promise by Michael Horton.

I tag Thabiti Anyabwile, Ed Stetzer and Jayme Thompson

the greater issue lost

The greater issue lost in all the chatter and blog-counterblog of the past few weeks is the importance of regenerate membership in our churches. We simply must find ways to deal with the enormous problem that has arisen as a result of the pragmatism of the past 20 years.

While many of us have pontificated and beat our chest over a decision of one church to accept members who are not baptized, we have perhaps turned a blind eye to the high percentage of people who join our churches each week who do not know or serve Christ. Many argue that membership itself is becoming a sham.

Thabiti Anyabwile, an associate pastor at Capital Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C. has recently posted some thoughts on the benefits of a regenerate membership:

1. A regenerate church membership promotes unity in the church. When a significant proportion of a church's membership is made up of carnal or unregenerate persons, factions, cliques, disputes and strife are bound to result (1 Cor. 3:1-4). Moreover, a threat to church unity grounded in gospel truth is nothing less than a threat to the integrity of the gospel message itself (John 17:17, 19-21). Preventing unregenerate members from entering the number will strengthen the unity of the church and strengthen the church's evangelism.

2. A regenerate church membership protects the reputation of the local church. The members of a local church should desire a testimony of "simplicity and godly sincerity" (2 Cor. 1:12). Our conduct should put to shame those opponents with evil intent toward the church (Tit. 2:7,8). However, the conduct of non-regenerate persons puts the testimony of the local church in jeopardy with the unbelieving, unchurched world.

3. A regenerate church membership advances the work of the local church. When the people of God are pure from vessels of "wood and clay" made for dishonor, then the remaining vessels are "for honor, sancitified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work" (2 Tim. 2:21). "Those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works" (Titus :8). The people of God are saved for good works (Eph. 2:10) and the local church is to equip them for the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:12). But the unregenerate will either be hindrances to the work of the church, poor imitators of that work, or workers who do good things but obscure the truth and power of the gospel with non-gospel-centered motives. How many of us have had first-hand experience of this at some carnal, conflict-filled member's meeting?

4. A regenerate membership spreads love in the congregation. The love with which the Father loved the Son is to be in the followers of Jesus (John 17:26). This love is the new commandment and a sign of genuine discipleship (John 13:34, 35). Members of the church are to love one another as Christ has loved us, laying down our lives for each other (John 15:12, 13; Eph. 5:2). This love is supernatural. If we would have churches that are not just friendly after services but truly marked by a God-like love, then we must have churches with members born from above, regenerated by God's Spirit.

5. A regenerate membership causes the church to grow in the proper way. The main purpose of the public church gathering is the edification of the church (1 Cor. 14:26). The main purpose of spiritual gifting is the edification of the church (1 Cor. 12:7; 14:12). The church is to be built up into spiritual maturity and strength. Edifying the body is made more difficult when a church takes into membership persons who may not be regenerate. Significant amounts of time will be given over to problems and concerns stemming from that portion of the membership whose self-interest trumps the collective interest of a mature and growing church.

6. A regenerate membership submits to the word of God. The life of the local church is immeasurably improved when its members submit themselves to word of God. Such submission provides the basis for unity, mission, conduct, and doctrine. The spiritually-minded are to acknowledge and receive the Scriptures as commandments from the Lord (1 Cor. 14:37; 1 Thes. 2:13). But discerning spiritual things in this way is not possible for the "natural" or unregenerate person (1 Cor. 2:14). And those who do not obey the Scriptures are to be marked and avoided (2 Thes. 3:14). When we prayerfully identify and avoid those who rebel against the word of God--those who are likely not to be regenerate--the local church is aided in her submission to her Head, Christ Jesus the Lord.

Should these points be obvious to us? The fact that they are exceptional to us speaks volumes of where we have come.

the blessing of controversy

I am sitting at the Richmond Airport awaiting my flight home from our IMB meeting reflecting on the blessing of controversy.

I know that this is a strange thing for a pastor to say- we shepherd types tend to like the green pastures and still waters. But my life this far has taught me that really good things often emerge out of troubled waters.

On his last birthday, we showed our son Taylor the video of his birth. He got up and left the room when we got to the part where his mom starts screaming.

I had forgotten that part.

I thought about how much a pain my children have been, starting with their births. But everytime I look at them my heart wells up with such joy and love and pride. They bring me such happiness. Such turmoil. They are struggling through adolescence, often clumsy and naive, but I see wonderful young adults emerging from that struggle.

My daughter was born on one of my worst days of ministry. I fired an immoral and deceitful staff member in the morning and held my newborn daughter in the afternoon. The pain of both those events have taught me more than most painless experiences I have ever had.

So, here's to the trials of many kinds. Here's to the joy perseverance brings!

I and many others have struggled of late with issues of baptism, private prayer language and membership. I certainly have not sought out these controversies, but I am grateful for what I am learning.

I had a chance to visit with Dennis Newkirk and some of the other elders at Henderson Hills the other day. I told them I believe something really good will come out of their struggle. I for one am grateful for the thoughtful discussion that has come from the issues they have raised (courageous on their part, by the way). It has caused many of us to think with more clarity about the issue of baptism. I know that this has been very difficult on Dennis, the elders and the entire Henderson Hills body. I am praying every day that God would lead this great church to find the mind of Christ in this situation. They are a part of our SBC family and we have a responsibility to hold them up in prayer, support them, and seek earnestly to understand their struggle.

Their position makes a very good point about the meaning of membership. They are attempting to address the issue of candidates for membership who get baptized for no other reason than an initiatory rite. That is not scriptural baptism they rightly point out.

They have correctly put their finger on the fallacy of empty tradition, void of scriptural substance. Although I disagree with their proposed solution, I have no argument with their point. People who commit their life to Christ should be correctly baptized the way scripture describes. They should do it only once and it should be their public profession of faith. It should not be simply a physical act to satisfy a man made rule (for church membership or IMB candidacy for that matter).

But should we give people who are not ready to take this step full membership? I would say certainly not, that indeed there is enough scriptural evidence that their immersion is an imperative to membership.

But what do we do with those people who have been sprinkled in another church as a sign of their profession of faith in a Bible believing pedobaptist body? The truth is there are many pastors who will say to this candidate, "just do it as a requirement for this church, even if it is not really baptism to you, what does it hurt? After all, it is only a symbol."

That baptism is a sham. It is non biblical and it should not happen. The elders at Henderson Hills are absolutely correct in making this point.

So do we turn them away and not make them full members? Could something else be worked out for them short of full membership while they are working through the true meaning of baptism? I know the argument some will make here- "This is easy, just turn them away, the answer is no, sorry, find another church."

But is that the VERY BEST answer?

I don't know, but I am glad that we are struggling for it. It is a very real issue that should be given a lot of thought. Could there be another way to help people identify with the church without being a full fledged member? Many Baptist churches have this in place anyway in the form of "watchcare membership."

I really believe that some very strong ideas will be born out of this labor.

This issue is not just a Henderson Hills one by the way. As denominational lines are frayed, more and more people with varying theological backgrounds will seek membership in our churches. Baptists must figure this out. We need a reformation in our definition of membership, it seems to me.

Some strong minds and passionate hearts need to struggle through this and give us prayerful solutions. I believe Dennis is attempting to do this. There are many of us who are saying, "it's hard to embrace your ideas so far, but keep struggling."

There will be blessings from this controversy.

Maybe you wonder why I write so much of controversial issues. Why not stick to the quiet water stuff? Remember that the name of the blog is "The Road We Travel" and it's objective is to "prepare the road and remove the obstacles". Obstacle clearing is messy. The road is not always smooth.

One only needs to follow the life of Jesus to see the truth in this.

Last Sunday I taught on John 2:1-12 where Jesus changed the water into wine. This Sunday we will learn about John 2:13-24 where Jesus cleared the temple.

That's the way it goes, it seems, when you follow Jesus. Sometimes He is the Lord of the wine, sometimes He is Lord of the whips. Sometimes He calms the waters. Sometimes He stirs them up.

charles spurgeon on the necessity of baptism to the existence of the church

THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE,

NEWINGTON ON LORD’S-DAY EVENING,

OCT. 13TH, 1889.

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." — Mark 16:16.

Why do you suppose that baptism is put into this prominent position? I think that it is for this reason, Baptism is the outward expression of the inward faith. He who believes in Christ with his heart confesses his faith before God and before the Church of God by being baptized. Now, the faith that speaks thus is not a dumb faith; it is not a cowardly faith; it is not a sneaking faith. Paul puts the matter thus, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

But why is confession so necessary to prove true faith? I answer that it is necessary to the very existence of the Church of God; for, if I may be a believer, and never confess my faith, you may be a believer, and never confess your faith, and all round we should thus have a company of men believing, and none of them confessing; and where would be the outward ordinances of the Church of Christ at all? Where would be any minister? Where would be the setting up and growing of the kingdom of Christ? For a hundred reasons, it is absolutely needful for Christ’s kingdom that the believer should openly confess his faith. Do you not see that? And hence baptism, being God’s way of our openly confessing our faith, he requires it to be added to faith, that the faith may be a confessing faith, not a cowardly faith; that the faith may be an open faith, not a private faith; that so the faith may be a working faith, influencing our life, and the life of others, and not a mere secret attempt for self-salvation by a silent faith which dares not own Christ.

Remember those words of the Lord Jesus, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me" (and in that place it means, "he who does not confess me") "before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."

There is, therefore, no regenerating efficacy about water, or about immersion, or about baptism in any shape or form; but it is needful as the outward visible expression of the inward spiritual faith by which the soul is saved.

And, dear friends, once more, baptism is often the test of obedience. He who believes in Christ takes him to be his Master as well as his Savior; and Christ, therefore, says to him, "Go and do so-and-so." If the man refuses to do it, he thereby proves that he does not intend to be the disciple of the Master. "Oh!" says one, "you know that baptism is a nonessential." Have I not begged you to cease such idle and wicked talk as that? Have you a servant? Do you go to business early in the morning? Do you like a cup of tea at six o’clock, before you start for the city? The maid does not bring it to you, and you ask, Why have I not had my tea brought to me?" "Oh!" she answers, it is non-essential; you can do your business very well without that cup of tea."

Let such a reply as that be repeated, or let it be given only once, and I will tell you what will be non-essential, it will be non-essential for you to keep that girl any longer in your house; you will want another servant, for you will say, "Clearly she is no servant of mine, she sets herself up as the mistress of the house, for she begins to judge my commands, and to say that this one is essential, and that one is not essential." What do you mean by "nonessential"? "I mean that I can be saved without being baptized." Will you dare to say that wicked sentence over again? "I mean that I can be saved without being baptized." You mean creature! So you will do nothing that Christ commands, if you can be saved without doing it? You are hardly worth saving at all! A man who always wants to be paid for what he does, whose one idea of religion is that he will do what is essential to his own salvation, only cares to save his own skin, and Christ may go where he likes.

Clearly, you are no servant of his; you need to be saved from such a disreputable, miserable state of mind; and may the Lord save you! Oftentimes, I do believe that this little matter of believers’ baptism is the test of the sincerity of our profession of love to him. It would have been all the same, it may be, if the Lord Jesus Christ had said, "Pick Lip six stones off the ground, and carry them in your pocket, and you shall be saved." Somebody would have said, "That stone-picking is a non-essential." It becomes essential as soon as Christ commands it. It is in this way that baptism, if not essential to your salvation, is essential to your obedience to Christ. If you have become his disciple, you are bound henceforth to obey all your Master’s commands:

"Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it."

Click here for the entire sermon.

interesting reads

There is an intersting discussion going on at Wes Kinney's blog regarding the baptism issue. Also, check out Kiki Cherry's post regarding "plastic Christianity".

why i am a dippest

This Sunday I will be teaching out of John 1:19-34, a study of John the Baptizer. There's an interesting prophet with a short career! Of course, a guy wearing animal skins, existing on a diet of bugs and sugar while screaming the need for repentance and baptism probably will not have a long life expectancy.

So let's ask the question, "What did his baptism mean?"

The issue of how to baptize has been a matter of debate for hundreds of years. One thing not debated, however, is the meaning of the word “baptizo”. All reputable biblical scholars agree that the word means “to immerse under”, or “to dip under” as a cloth maker would completely submerge cloth into dye. John the Baptist didn't sprinkle. You can just tell from his personality that the guy was a full submerger. He didn't drag people to the Jordan just to give em a little dab.

T.J. Conant states simply, “The Greek word ‘baptizein’ expresses nothing more than the act of immersion, the religious significance of which is derived from the circumstances connected with it”. W.A. Jarrel offers: “Greek literature shows that ‘baptizo‘ is used to indicate being put within and under, whatever the mode by which it is done—whether by an overflowing flood, by a sinking ship, or otherwise. But, whatever the mode by which the immersion is accomplished—always an immersion”. Interestingly, Wesley, Luther, Calvin all agreed on this meaning, in spite of the teachings of the churches they represent.

Another interesting side note of history is that the word “baptize” was not an English word until the 17th century. The translators of the King James Bible wanted to use the word “dip” when it came to translate the word “bapitzo”. But King James himself intervened and demanded that they create a new word, making the point that the word “dip” was not distinguished enough. My dad used to tell me, “we Baptists have a debt of gratitude to pay old King James, if it had not been for him, we would be called ‘dippests’”.

Some do not realize that the practice began long before John the Baptist. To understand this history one needs to trace Christianity to it's Jewish roots, as many of the early church practices came directly from Hebrew tradition. The early church sprang out of the culture of the synagogue just as the stage was set for the coming of the Messiah by the witness of the Old Testament prophets, the Davidic Kingdom and the teachings of the Torah. The early Hebraic traditions, in other words, were precursers to the worship and practices of the church.

David Dockery points out that “the noun form, baptisma, is not found outside the New Testament and is only found in the singular. The term implies not only the external act of baptism, but also denotes the inner meaning and force of the act” God is more interested in what is going on on the inside of a man than he is by what is happening on the outside. Baptism, a physical act, is a outward symbol of an inner reality.

So Baptism did not originate with John, it was practiced for centuries by the Jew in ritual cleansing. William Lumpkin states: “Some of the antecedents of the rite can be found in the Jewish religion. All of the Oriental religions seemed to have used ablutions, but in Judaism, this washing and dipping in water occupied an important place”. The most familiar and historically significant use of this practice was in “proselyte baptism.”

Lumpkin notes, “Before the Christian era, the Jews…employed solitary lustrations (purifications) to mark individual transition from one state of life to another, from pagan to true worship”.

So it is important to remember that in Jewish history, especially in the first century, it would have been very common for people who had experienced a conversion and repentance to be completely immersed in a ritual procelyte baptism.

So how is it that total immersion in Baptism soon became confused with the practice of sprinkling? The likely answer is that the further the church got from it’s Jewish roots, the less inclined the church was to remember her history embedded in Jewish tradition. Referring to the Church’s Jewish origin, G. R. Beasley-Murray explains, “So also ritual cleansing in water was practiced from immemorial antiquity, and if their history has been largely forgotten, their associations have shown an extraordinary tenacity for life”.

Reverand William Adams in an article for “Bridges for Peace” points out that even contemporary orthodox are familiar with the practice:

“Some very Orthodox men still follow an old practice of immersing themselves in a mikva [ritual immersion or place of ritual immersion] prior to the Sabbath and holidays. Scribes engaged in writing a Torah [Genesis–Deuteronomy] scroll immerse themselves before beginning the process. One must only go to Leviticus and Numbers to find ritual cleansing by immersion, which the most Torah–observant Jews practice to this day."

Dockery puts it this way, “The purification rituals of Judaism stressed cleanliness and worthiness to serve the Lord (Leviticus 13–17; Numbers 19)”. The New Testament writers, in Mark 7:1–5 and Hebrews 9:19–20, referenced the importance of this cleansing in the temple sacrifices.

Jesus asked the elders and leaders in the temple where John the Baptists baptism came from (cf. Matthew 21:23–27), was it from man or was it from God? Jesus did not give his opinion, but left it up to the hearer. Where did it come from? Of course, the answer is that it was in God’s plan. But how did that plan come about in Jewish history? The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls reveals that there was community at Qumran, connected to the Essene sect of Judaism, that practiced a form of baptism for ritual cleansing outside of the temple courts. You can see the ruins of the those ritual baths to this very day. There is much speculation that John came from this group or was at least heavily influenced by them.

A connection to the Essene, who believed that Herod's temple was currupt, would be especially ironic for John, given his father Zecharia's association with the Temple (Luke 1). But what is certain is that God led John, the last Old Testament prophet, into the wilderness to demand repentance and to baptize people in preperation for the coming of Christ. People came from miles around to hear the prophet and to be bapitzed by him. It was to the baptizer's great surprise, therefore, that Jesus Himself stepped forward for this baptism.

John's baptism of Jesus sealed the practice into the hearts of his followers, and established the ordinance of the church. A practice that had a rich heritage within ancient Judaism, became in that moment the place where heaven and earth joined together and the Trinity was revealed; and Jesus, submitting Himself to baptism as He would submit Himself to death began His public ministry culminating in the cross.

Suffice it to say that when the early church emerged at Pentecost and the early disciples called on the new believers to be baptized, the practice was already familiar to all of those participating. Marvin Wilson explains a proselyte’s self-baptism: “The [naked] candidate…immersed himself in the waters, symbolically cleansing himself from the antecedent defilement. His past behind him, he emerged to take his stand with the people of Israel”. It was not an unusual leap for the early Jewish follower of Jesus to identify with the death, burial and resurrection and to the cleansing of their sin to the ritual baptism by immersion, taken from Jewish history and later modeled by John the Baptist and Jesus Himself.

It is not hard to envision that first baptism, since the mikvot (ritual pools) stood close by at the entrance to the temple mount. The difference in this new form of cleansing, however, was that the disciples entered the pools with them, baptizing them into the new Kingdom in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. William Lumpkin observed that “immersion was the proper mode of baptism the Church never doubted in the first thousand years and more of its history.”

This is why we Dippests can say with confidence that immersion is the most historically accurate and God honoring mode of baptism, and stands its ground in biblical study and Jewish heritage as the practice that best proclaims the transforming and cleansing power of the Redeemer as a symbol of His death, burial and resurrection; a covenant sign of a new reality, and entry into a new life as the first step of obedience and discipleship.

is baptism necessary for membership?

Many have asked my opinion of the pending decision of a leading Baptist church in our area to accept members who have not been immersed.

In light of my stand on baptism within the IMB, I think I should clarify my position regarding this one church. As I understand it, the elders in this church have indicated that they intend to ask their congregation to adjust their bylaws so that members can be recieved into the church who have not be baptized. You can find their position papers here.

Although I respect the autonomy of the local church in making decisions related to baptism and will stand strong for cooperation, the decision by this church goes way beyond the dabate about alien immersion. The church in question is not requiring any form of baptism for membership at all.

Let's be clear, the traditional Baptist belief is that baptism is a requirement for membership. If someone from this church came to the IMB as a missionary candidate and yet had not been baptized (I am sure that this church would insist on their baptism before they approved the application, but just for the conjecture that I am sure people are already making...), the candidate consultant would rightly tell them they should be baptized before they can be considered as a missionary candidate.

This church is going beyond the Baptist Faith and Message and readily admits that. Those of us who have protested the policy changes in the IMB have done so because we believe the new policies are more narrow than the BFM 2000. By the same token, I am in disgreement with this church because I believe they have stepped outside the agreed upon doctrinal position of Southern Baptists.

Let me explain.

We must first frame the issue for many Baptist churches. We often encounter people who want to gain membership in our church but who do not want to be immersed, because they were "baptized" as infants. "What is wrong with my baptism?" they will say. Some may view this as a stumbling block for good Christian people who want to be members of Baptist churches. Baptists have traditionally said that this is an issue that we must get right, because it is an issue of discipleship.

So first of all, let me just point out that there is a distinction between paedobaptist (churches that practice infant baptism) and credobaptists (those who believe scripture teaches only believers baptism) that has a very long theological history and is the most profound distinguishing factor that separates Baptist belief and Presbyterian. The paedobaptist view baptism as a rite much different than the baptism of their Baptist counterparts. It is acceptable to baptize infants as a part of the new covenant according to this view because Baptism is not seen as being a necessary requirement for obedience, but rather a sign of the covenant promise.

The paedobaptist would cite 1 Corinthians 7:14:

For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

My Presbyterian friends would say that this is evidence that children in the homes of believing parents are under the same covenant promise as their parents, therefore it is only natural that they would be baptized as infants, as baptism is in their minds a kind of new circumcision (a sign of the covenant).

I am sympathetic with the issues that paedobaptists raise when they want to join a Baptist church. It is tempting for any church to lower the bar in order to accept strong Bible believing families who have a different position on the issue of baptism and have been baptized as infants.

As Baptists we respond that there is not one single bit of evidence of this practice in scripture, and that in fact the only baptism practiced in scripture is believers baptism. And besides, the passage in 1 Cor. 7 is referring to the terrible situation that occurs when a family is broken by divorce. It certainly is true that it is better for children to have their parents stay together. We know from experience that children from broken homes have more problems in general than children whose families are in tact. Paul was not speaking of the covenant promise, he was speaking of the practical situation that occurs in families as a result of divorce.

So, in our view, not all baptisms are equal. Scriptural baptism is immersion after salvation. It is done as an act of obedience to Christ, who set the example by his own baptism.

Consider this statement from William Cathcart's monumental Baptist Encyclopedia:

The Baptists of this country hold that the Word of God is the only authority in religion, that its teachings are to be sacredly observed, and that to religious doctrines and observances there can be no additions except from it; they hold that a man should repent and be saved through faith in the meritorious Redeemer before he is baptized; that immersion alone is Scripture baptism; that only by it can the candidate represent his death to the world, burial with Christ, and resurrection to newness of life; that baptism is a prerequisite to the Lord's Supper; they hold the doctrines of the Trinity, of eternal and personal election, total depravity, regeneration by the Holy Spirit, justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ, progressive sanctification, final perseverance a special providence, immediate and eternal glory for the righteous after death, and instant and unending misery for the ungodly. They hold the doctrinal articles of the Presbyterian Church, and they only differ from that honored Calvinistical community in the mode and subjects of baptism, and in their congregational church government. They hold that all regenerated believers are saved, whether they are immersed or sprinkled, or lack both ceremonies; and they insist on the immersion of believers because Christ was immersed, and because he enjoins immersion upon all believers.

To be Baptist is to be credobaptist. Baptists down through history have given their lives for this belief. Charles H. Spurgeon, widely believed as the greatest preacher since the New Testament, was raised as a paedobaptist and surrounded by paedobatists his entire ministry and yet because of his strong conviction of the authority of God's word was baptized after his salvation and remained a champion of Baptist beliefs to the very end.

It is not a minor issue.

Some will say, "But the Bible does not explicitly teach that one must be baptized in order to be a member of the church. The Bible talks about membership, and it talks about baptism, but it never "hinges" the two together. It would wrong to go beyond scripture and make baptism a rite of entry."

That is like saying that the Bible never says that you must be a Christian to be a member of the church, why link the two together? In fact, there is no single passage in scripture that specifically gives us the requirements of membership into the church. But membership is certainly implied.

Speaking of the church in Jerusalem in Acts 2, Luke writes, "Those who accepted their message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day". This is the first indication we have in scripture of a church roll. There is a number, and it is being added to.

In 1 Corinthians 5, writing of a man who is to be disciplined in the church, Paul states plainly: "expel the wicked man from you." Expel from what? Logic would say that unless you have membership in a church, you cannot expel people from it.

So although the Bible does not teach the specific entrance requirement into the church, it does teach that churches have members and by implication we can only deduce that members in the local church have identified themselves with Christ and that they have spiritual knowledge, spiritual gifts and are committed to the teaching of the apostles and prophets and the commission of Christ.

Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age (Matthew 28:19).

The New Testament makes baptism a normative part of becoming a Christian.

Jesus said, "Make disciples, baptizing them..."

Which could be stated: "I intend for the natural starting point of becoming a disciple to be baptism." And that is what the early church did. In Acts 2:41 it says that after Peters first Pentecost sermon, "Those who received his word were baptized." And years later, when Paul wrote the church in Rome he assumed that everyone who was a member of that church had been baptized.

He said in Romans 6:1-3, "Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death..."

In other words, Paul assumes that the believers he is writing to in Rome have without question or argument received baptism and he makes the obedience of that spiritual act the basis for his instructions to them about how they are to live out their faith.

So Jesus made baptism the norm for becoming a Christian in Matthew 28:19 and the apostles continued this practice in the early church. This is why baptism is a membership requirement at CRBC.

There is no question that baptism is the first step in our obedience to Christ and that obedience is the sign and signature of being a Christian. "We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, "I know Him", but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in Him."

The church is the Bride and Body of Christ, where people are challenged into discipleship. Making disciples is the primary role of the church, of which baptism is the first step. This is why we believe the paedobaptist is wrong in his interpretation of this ordinance, and it is why we believe no one should be a member of the church who has not taken this step of obedience.

adrian rogers and cooperation: a tribute by joyce rogers

One of the most powerful moments of the Pastor's Conference last week was the tribute of Joyce Rogers to her late husband Adrian and a challenge to young pastors. Listen carefully at the end as she shares her husband's feelings about cooperation and narrowing theological parameters.

thoughts on sbc convention

This past week in Greensboro was a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed very much hooking up with some long time friends and enjoyed getting to know some new ones. It was great to spend time with Wendell and Linda Estep, Wendells brother Mark and son Eric.

Also it was great to hook up with college buddies Jeff and Carol Young, to have lunch with Claude and Eric Thomas and to spend a few minutes with my old buddy David Leavell and to put faces to names of so many in the blogging community I have gotten to know but have never met in person. As always, I enjoyed hanging out with Wade, Marty, Ben and the gang.

The downside for me was leaving my family and church after such a long time away. But now that it is over and I am back to the comforts of home, I can finally say I am glad I went. The Greensboro convention will be remembered, I believe, for historic changes.

Let me just give you the highlights as I see them:

1. Many will say this was the best Pastors Conference ever. Kudos to Bryant Wright.

2. Substantive discussion on theological issues. The dialogue between Mohler and Patterson was very well attended and a great addition to the conference. I was especially impressed with Mohler.

3. Bobby Welch did an outstanding job as moderator and leader in the convention. I was impressed with his fairness, his good humor and the smooth way the proceedings were run.

4. The election of Frank Page on the first ballot was a big surprise to many, including me. Time Magazine has given credit to bloggers. I believe there were at least six factors:

• IMB. The Wade Burleson issue has created great interest. The attempt to remove him from the board has made Wade a household name among Southern Baptists. There were many who rallied around this issue and came ready to vote for change. Anyone who was associated with "the establishment" would be voted out.
• NAMB. To a lesser degree the problems at NAMB contributed to the already anti-establishment fervor.
• Cooperative Program giving. The issue of percentage giving to the CP has gained momentum as cumulative giving has decreased in recent years. The SBC needs real leadership in this area and there is concern that big time pastors who give small percentages aren't helping.
• WMU. The vote to make WMU an SBC entity right before the election only set things up for Frank Page. The WMU was there in force and they were prepared to vote for the candidate who was committed to missions giving.
• Nomination speech. The truth is, more people decide who to vote for on the spot than we might think. Forrest Pollock spoke from the heart and connected to the convention with his nomination of Page.
• Bloggers. Blogging has made an impact. Probably 8 of 10 speakers I heard mentioned blogging in some way. Even Al Mohler made a statement about them. The bloggers have kept the issues fresh and have created a great deal of energy in the convention. Love em or hate em.... they will be a fixture in convention politics in the future. Their impact, however dramatic, is unquestionable in my opinion.

5. Great IMB presentation on Wednesday night. The highlight of the week for me was the report and prayer time at the end the IMB presentation on Wednesday evening. Dr. Rankin did a wonderful job in rallying the convention around the needs of West Africa. Tom Ellif led us in a meaningful prayer time. I could not help thinking as Rankin was giving his report- this is what it is about! This is why we are all gathered here, from many different theological perspectives, churches and points of view- we are all here to rally around the need to bring the gospel to the nations.

I am hopeful and encouraged by what I observed at our convention. I believe there is a new day dawning in SBC life. My prayer is that this year will mark the beginning of a great revival of purpose and initiative as we work together for the cause of Christ.